Milk Crate Sleeping Platform

[Dissent]

I'm looking at making a sleeping platform but have no time or desire to play in the 110 degree heat at present.

I have 4x milk crates, a piece of 44"x48" 19/32" plywood and some indoor/outdoor carpet from Lowes. My plan is to arrange the milk crates in between the fenders, staple the carpet to the plywood and plop the plywood onto the crates to have a usable sleeping platform and storage underneath for an upcoming run. I can stow recovery gear and tools in the crates, still have them available for use and be able to empty the rear quickly if needed.

Anyone doing this at present that can comment on how well this will work? Any tips on tying it down? Does it shift around too much, is there a good way to keep it from moving? Any growth possibilities to stay with this and not have to invest in a big heavy wooden platform with drawers?

I'm looking to build an 80/20 aluminum setup in the future but it's waaaaayyy down on the list right now.

 

[ItWasntMe]

I run this set up when I'm by myself. I use two pieces of plywood, one behind each 2nd row seat, carpeted like you said. I just use cam straps (used for rafting) to hold it all down with the 3rd row seat brackets on the wheel wells. If I need to, I can stack the boards and run them width wise behind the 2nd row as well. This allows some flexibility for cargo. When it's time to set up the bed, I collapse the back rests of the 2nd row, release the seat bottom, and put a piece of wood under the latch. It levels out the seat back and gives me enough room to sleep with the truck completely closed up (I'm 6'2").

It works pretty well, but I definitely gotta crank the cam straps down pretty tight to keep it 100% from shifting.

 

[97 greenmonster]

I've been using same thing for years in mine. I put my plywood on floor and pack everything on top because I need second row seat up for the ride. When we get to site to camp we set up. We put milk crates at every corner plywood on top of that gets me even to second row seat folded down, then queen size air mattress on top. My wife,7 year old daughter and I sleep in there with no issues. If your taller , I'm 6'5" I sleep on driver side and remove driver front and rear head rest then move driver seat forward and recline it and it will line up with second row seat this way I have room for my feet.

 

[Dissent]

I have 2x LCP Puma Mounts back there I could mount a brace to to keep the wood from shifting left and right. I also considered some sort of 1x2 frame under the plywood to lock it into the lip of the crates to keep it from shifting but wasn't sure how much the crates would shift. Good point on the seats, I have propped it up before with a 2x4 for another makeshift platform (toolbox, speaker, whatever, and some plywood.) Works very well.

 

[Dissent]

I've been using same thing for years in mine. I put my plywood on floor and pack everything on top because I need second row seat up for the ride. When we get to site to camp we set up. We put milk crates at every corner plywood on top of that gets me even to second row seat folded down, then queen size air mattress on top. My wife,7 year old daughter and I sleep in there with no issues. If your taller , I'm 6'5" I sleep on driver side and remove driver front and rear head rest then move driver seat forward and recline it and it will line up with second row seat this way I have room for my feet.

Ah, I hadn't thought about folding the driver's seat back. I've always stuck my feet between the seats. Good idea. I plan to sleep on top of the truck on my platform but the kids want to sleep in the back. I do have a twin air mattress I used when I just pulled the 2nd row way back when.

 

[97 greenmonster]

Queen air mattress fits tight side to side. We sometimes throw a few extra blankets on sides if it's cold night so you don't get cold with back against rear windows

 

[ItWasntMe]

One thing to add, when you cut the length of the plywood, I found it helpful to actually have the wood overlap the rear of the seat (when folded) by about 1". It just covers what's exposed of the seat bottom. I cut it so that shutting the tailgate keeps it in position against the little clip that holds down the backing of the 2nd row backrest. It helps keep everything from shifting while I'm sleeping without having to run straps over the top under my sleeping pad. This, of course requires using a 2 piece platform. Hope that makes sense.

 

[AyotnomOgini]

I did something similar but with both rows of seats removed. I used two of these, a cooler that matched the height of the two totes, a 48 x 70ish piece of 3/4 plywood, and a cheap foam ikea mattress cut to size. I used ratchet straps to keep it secure but I think that the foam mattress squeezed in tight did a lot to keep everything in place too. I used my scrap wood jack plates to prop up the platform when I wanted to get the tubs in and out without disturbing the entire bed. It isn't the most convenient setup but it is a good stopgap until I can build a drawer system.

 

[Dissent]

Great ideas, I hadn't considered the overlap. I wish I could use the full width but I have a Puma on one side and a stack of water bricks on the other.

 

[Dissent]

One thing to add, when you cut the length of the plywood, I found it helpful to actually have the wood overlap the rear of the seat (when folded) by about 1". It just covers what's exposed of the seat bottom. I cut it so that shutting the tailgate keeps it in position against the little clip that holds down the backing of the 2nd row backrest. It helps keep everything from shifting while I'm sleeping without having to run straps over the top under my sleeping pad. This, of course requires using a 2 piece platform. Hope that makes sense.

If I had a single chunk of wood, is there a clearance issue if the wood is against the tailgate when the seats are folded into a usable position?

 

[ItWasntMe]

Yes that is why I initially went for the two piece design. Tho I've found the flexibility of being able to stack the boards/run them perpendicular to the length of the vehicle to be quite convenient for my use. This is of course assuming that you're shooting for that bit of overlap on the seats.

 

[Dissent]

Gotcha, the overlap is a nice touch but I wanted to retain the single sheet to minimize falling into any gaps should there be two people sleeping on this contraption. Locking it in place would be nice though, that space between the board and seat is a great place to pinch fingers or a down sleeping bag. May have to reconsider using a single sheet and cut it in two but I won't be able to lock them together for daily platform use for cargo and such. I could dowel them and use table clasps but then carpeting them becomes harder. All my simple solutions always become more complex than the real solution.

 

[Dissent]

I tossed in 4 crates, trimmed up the plywood a bit, glued and stapled some carpeting and it's a pretty decent platform. I took @ItWasntMe's advice and overlapped the seats by about 1". The platform fits nicely alongside my Puma and just clears my Water Bricks. I'm going to use motorcycle soft strap loops to wrap around the LCP Puma Mounts so as not to scrape them up then use standard ratchet straps to hold down cargo. I cut 2x 2x4 blocks 11" long and placed them under the 2nd row seats to prop them up. Easy peasy.

The only I issue I ran into is that with the seats folded up, the space will only accommodate a 42" piece of wood which wedges nicely between the seats and tailgate. With the seats folded down and propped up with my 11" 2x4, I need a 45" piece of plywood to wedge against the tailgate. I hemmed and hawed for awhile then cut off the offending 3" of extra wood as my platform must work 90% of the time in the seats up position. When I make the bed platform, I push the wood over the edge of the seats, slide the crates against the tailgate and lay the 3" strip I cut off against the end of the plywood and shut the tailgate on it. Wedges in nicely and I get the best of both worlds. I was going to hinge the extra 3" slat but I wanted to carpet the wood to protect the seats and air mattress.

I'll post up a pic of the whole thing folded up and down to illustrate the gaps and such later on.

 

[Funner]

If one of the gaps you're woried about is the one between the plywood and the folded over 2nd row, I would urge you to throw whatever pad down you plan to use and climb in there. My experience is that I couldn't detect that 1-2" gap at all.

 

[ItWasntMe]

Looks great!

 

[Dissent]

If one of the gaps you're woried about is the one between the plywood and the folded over 2nd row, I would urge you to throw whatever pad down you plan to use and climb in there. My experience is that I couldn't detect that 1-2" gap at all.

Good to know. I've not tried it out yet but wedging the 3" piece in the back closed up the gap perfectly. I plan to just keep the 3" strip stored behind the 3rd row but I'm sure it's going to get thrown away by accident. I was more concerned about the damage to the driver's seat bottom where the PO dog ate the black strip. Lots of sharp spots there along with the gap. We'll try it out and see how it goes.

 

[Dissent]

The new platform worked perfectly last weekend. An added benefit is the PETT Toilet fits between the milk crates along with the popup tent thingy that covers it. Nice and tidy.

 

[Dragos80]

Would two pieces of plywood work for a combined length of approximately 64", which make them easy to store with the 2nd row of seat up?

@Dissent, I took your idea regarding the 2x4 piece and placed 2 short ones under the 2nd row latch on the floor. This helped me raise the bottom of the seats up enough to level them out.
I now need to play with some coolers to make one of them fit under the plywood without disturbing the height or platform level.

 

[Dragos80]

Here's my first step in this process.

Neither one of my 3 coolers will fit. They are simply too tall.

 

[80FZJ]